There are various circumstances under which it is desirable to introduce drugs or other liquids into the marrow of a subject's bone. For example, in cases where a subject has suffered from serious trauma or cardiac arrest it may not be practical to deliver liquids by way of intravenous (IV) infusions. Intraosseous infusion may also be useful for delivering fluids to newborns and small children in which suitable blood vessels are difficult to access. Intraosseous infusion may be used to deliver fluids into a subject's sternum, femur, tibia, or other bone. Intraosseous infusion has the advantage that, with appropriate technology, a pathway for intraosseous infusion can be established very rapidly. This can save lives in critical situations. Portals in bone may also be applied to withdraw or aspirate fluid from within the bone.
Findlay et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,761,726 entitled Method and Apparatus for the Intraosseous Introduction of a Device Such as an Infusion Tube describes apparatus capable of introducing an infusion tube to a predetermined depth in the marrow of a bone. Apparatus generally like that described in Findlay et al. has been marketed under the trademark FAST 1 by Pyng Medical Corp. of Richmond, British Columbia Canada and has achieved significant commercial success. Intraosseous infusion apparatus and techniques are also disclosed in WO 97/24151 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,817,052.